Meritage Portfolio Management Raises Stock Position in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH)

Meritage Portfolio Management increased its holdings in shares of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 37,178 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,767 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Commerce Bancshares were worth $1,986,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Commerce Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV purchased a new position in Commerce Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Adirondack Trust Co. purchased a new position in Commerce Bancshares in the third quarter valued at $44,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Commerce Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at $55,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Down 0.9 %

NASDAQ:CBSH traded down $0.48 on Thursday, hitting $55.44. The stock had a trading volume of 331,169 shares, compared to its average volume of 488,063. The stock has a market cap of $7.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.60 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $52.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.18. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $40.91 and a 1-year high of $56.75.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.06. Commerce Bancshares had a net margin of 23.33% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The business had revenue of $397.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $389.49 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Commerce Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Commerce Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 5th. Commerce Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CBSH shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Commerce Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Commerce Bancshares in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of Commerce Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $61.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Robert S. Holmes sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.66, for a total value of $263,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 50,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,648,429.38. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Robert S. Holmes sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.66, for a total transaction of $263,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 50,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,648,429.38. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas D. Neff sold 614 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.25, for a total transaction of $30,853.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $403,909.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,661 shares of company stock worth $606,528 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Commerce Bancshares Profile

Commerce Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Commerce Bank that provides retail, mortgage banking, corporate, investment, trust, and asset management products and services to individuals and businesses in the United States. It operates through three segments: Consumer, Commercial, and Wealth.